Apparatus for milling fabrics



June 10, 1952 BATES 2,599,804

APPARATUS FOR MILLING FABRICS Filed March 14, 1949 E I %z) Invent r Ola/1 B AGENT Patented June 10, 1952 I 2,599,804 QFFICE APPARA US; ron ivnnnI G FABmos:

i iEmile-B'. Bates, Leicesten, England statements}. 14, mass-mine. crass In Great "Britain March 18-, 119% This invention. concerns a. milling apparatus for the milling (or fulhng or lie'lting) of fabric (partieulaflgknitted tabr'ic incorporatingwoollen yarn) and milling apparatus. 1 It is: common practice to mill woollen fabric (ice; to submit-it to a mechanical kneading process) in. order to increase its thicltnessrand-specific weight by pro- ;1-1 Claims. ((71.26-2-1) prise a :feeler responsiveto the passage through the machine of. aloca-l thickness in the fabric is. :gby the:- passage of a. seam or other device Joining the ends or a finite lengthof fabricinto an. endless. band) If. the length-representation is in the nature or a time measurement; it may ducinga decrease in its-surface area, Themilling operation however, to a certain extent haphazard inthat itis extremely difficult to judge when the desired result, in the terms of. Weight per unit area, or'weight'per unit length of fabric of a. predetermined width, has been achieved and an object of the present invention is to provide an lzapparatus which facilitates the achievement of this. desired-result. I

Experiments haveshownthat the proportionate reduction .inllength of "the fabric as the mill- .ing .operationtproceedszafiords -:a useful-.Iindication of the proportionate increase in weight. The present invention based on these observations, and provides. the in the :milling of fabric,

band repeatedly through the milling .machineand obtaining at each of successive passes of the band through. the machine a measurement which is representative of the length. of the band at that pass. Theretore the "progressive reduction in length may be noted and :the milling operation may be stopped at a stage iwhereat experience dictates that the length reduction achieved; will give the desired increase in thickness and weight.

Thermeasurement, representative of the length er the band, may be. obtained by measuring the length but since practical: considerations will invariably result in the machine being, run at a constantspeed kit will be appreciated that the time taken for each 'ipassis representative of the length of the fabricband iatthatpassand so the length-representing measurement may be a time measurement.

The inventiontfurther providesa milling machine of the type comprising a pair of rollers I between which the fabric .inthe form ofzanend- .sive passes or the-: band a.- measurement which is representative toithe lengthof the band at that pass. I While it -is within the. scope of the inventionto obtain and exhibit the lengthy-representation at each and every pass yet the expression successive passes not to.- be interpretedas be obtained by a stop-watch mechanism and the reeler may serve tostarhstop, and reset this mechanism; :this mechanism-follows normal practice; a. length-representation would thereby be obtained every third pass. In :9, preferred construction, however, the. machine. incorporates a length-indicator-dri-ven layer in conformity with a measuring roller or the like that. engages v.seation. Thev ieeler may be identified, with the of passing the iabric in the form :of .an endless roller and this roller may be in addition to the pairof rollers before mentioned orit may be one of these rollers.

The foregoing and other features, of the. invention are..-ineorp.orated in the. machine which will now be described byway of example, and which :is illustrated more; or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing in which Eigure l is a composite .figure; the top right hand portion depicts, on a.v very small scale. and somewhat diagrammatically, a milling machine and the remainder depicts, in sectional. elevation and on a larger scale, the. length-measuring. and indicating mechanism; I

Figure 2 showsa cross-section through the said mechanism. on the line..2--2 of Figure. 1,;.

, is biased towards the other.

- Figure 3 is a plan of, av portion of the. mecha- Figures 4 and 5 are views illustrating, in front elevation, the operation of, the mechanism.

The invention is best carried into effect in a rotary milling machine liof the type comprising upper and lower squeezing rol1ers, 2 and 3 respectively, wherein one andpreferably the upper one For example the roller may be biased by springs such "as the com- .pression springs 4, by-gravity or by both. One of f the fabric is deliveredinto a box-likechannel or ing open ends.

spout 5 (sometimes known as acrimp box) hav- The base of this channel at the entry 'end'is located in close proximity to the periphery of the lower roller 31 so that the fabric is thereby stripped from the latter. In this being restricted in thisman-ner for it within the scope of the invention-toobtain and exhibit channel the fabric is caused to. accumulate'in'zigzag manner, .for which purpose and as is well known the channel is provided with a lidi which is hinged at. its end nearest to the-rollers ('e. g. about the axis: of roller2) and is weighted soas to press down upon the accumulated fabric. From the other end of the channel the-fabric is withdrawn andis conducted again to therol-lers. The milling operation is therefore of :a continunus-character. g

As, will readily be understood the fabric retime this joint passes between the two rollers 23 the latter are temporarily forced apart. The rotation of these rollers is employed to measure the length of fabric which passes through the nip in the time interval between two successive passages of the joint I. For this purpose one of the rollers, and preferably the bottom roller 3, is a length measuring device and is connected through suitable reduction gearing (here shown as comprising worm and worm wheel mechanism 8) to a lengthindicating device 9 which latter has two indicatspring 35 into a position in which it is'arranged to be engaged by cam 23. l

n It will be appreciated that owin to the thickness of the projection I, and the speed at which that element passes between the rollers, the roller 2 is bounced up with considerable force sufiicient to overcome friction and spring pressure in the mechanism (justdescribed) to which that displacement is applied.

In the condition shown in Figures 1 and 2 the clutch '29, 30 has just been engaged following the ing fingers I0 and II movable over a dial a por- 31 tion of which is represented in dotted lines at I2. The finger I0 is caused to advance from the zero position atevery third pass of the seam by a clutch which is controlled by the lifting of the roller 2. The thickness of projection 1, conjointly with the speed at which the fabric passes through the rollers, causes the roller 2 to bounce up (the lift being in practice greater than the difference between the thickness of projection and that of the fabric F) so that a very substantial displacement of the roller is achieved. This plied or amplified by suitable apparatus (of which numerous forms are well known) indicated diagrammatically at 40 in Fig. 1; for example simple lever mechanism or gear mechanism or a. combination of the two, may be employed for the amplification. The ratio of amplification, if any,

may be quite small and in this connection it is to be observed that in Fig, 1 the milling machine 1 I is shown on a much smaller scale than the mechanism 9, and that each lift of roller 2 is only required to produceone third of a complete rotation of one shaft 2| mentioned in the following paragraph. As the finger I0 advances it engages' a projection l3 on the finger II and carries the latter with it but when the finger I0 is returned to the zero position under the influence of a restoring spring M the finger remains in its furthest position of advance and so indicates the" maximum reading achieved by finger I9.

Each time the roller 2 lifts it operates through means shown diagrammatically in Figure 1 to which may be set by a stop screw 31. The rack: 3

l8 engages a pinion 20 loosely mounted on shaft 2| but arranged to drive the latter in a clock- I wisedirection Fig. 1 through pawl and ratchet mechanism 22. Shaft 2| carries two cams 23, 24.

, raise a plunger I5 which, through the medium of Cam 23 controls the clutch, and cam 24 operates a check pawl 25 pivoted at'26 and urged by spring 21 to a position in which it engages a ratchet wheel 28 (carrying finger I0) and prevents the [latter from rotating a counter-clock-wise direction. 7

The clutch as shown in Fig. 3 as comprising two members 29 and 30, member 29 being formed on a sprocket 3| which is driven from the worm gearing 8 and member 39 being formed on the ratchet wheel 28. To engage the clutch, member 29 is shifted axially for which purpose there is a fixed cam member 32 and a movable cam member 33 provided with an arm 34 which is drawn by first pass of the seam f1 through the nip between the two rollers 2, 3 and therefore the ratchet wheel 28 and finger l0 aredriven in a clock-wise direction from the reduction gearing 8; the finger I0 drives finger I in front of it by means of the projection l3. At the next pass of the seam 1 'shaft 2|, together with these cams 23, 24, is

racked through 120 to the position shown in Fig. 4. In this movement cam 23 makes contact with a lever 34 and rotates the cam member 33 so that the'clutch member 29 is permitted to disengage from the clutch member 39. The fingers therefore cease to revolve but finger I0 is prevented from being returned to zero by spring l4 because the check pawl 25 is still engaged with the ratchet wheel 28. At the next pass of the seam shaft 2| is racked through a further 120 to the position shown inFig. 5.. In this position cam 23 still makes contact with lever 34 so that the clutch remains disengaged, but cam 24 makes contact with the end of the check pawl 25 and disengages the latter from' the ratchet wheel 28. The spring 14 therefore rotates the ratchet wheel 28 in a counter-clock-wise direction and returns the finger I0 to zero. Finger ll remains in the position to which it has been driven.

This completes the three phase cycle, and at the next ass of the seam shaft 2| is racked through a further 120 bringing the various parts to the position shown in Fig. 1 in which the check pawl 25 is engaged with the ratchet wheel 28 and the lever 34 is swung in the clock-wise direction so that the cam 33 is given a movement of partial rotation over cam 32 and thereby shifts the clutch member!!! to engage the clutch member 30. The finger I0 is therefore driven forward once again and the cycle is repeated.

It will therefore be appreciated as the milling operation progresses the finger l9 will indicate progressively decreasing lengths, and the fact that the finger remains in a position indicative of the initial length permits an appreciation of the proportionate length reduction to be made with facility.

It will on occasion be necessary to run the milling machine with no fabric in it and it is therefore necessary to ensure that under these circumstances the clutch does not remain engaged so that the fingers l0 and H are driven repeatedly around the dial until the spring I4 is broken. For this purpose there may be a safety device comprising a stop member 36, Fig. 1 so placed as to be engaged by one of the fingers after the permitted maximum movement and to be shifted by it so as to cause the lever 34 to be swung to the clutch-disengaging position. Stop member 36 is supported by a lever 4| pivoted at 42 and connected by a link 43 to lever 34. Thus when stop member 34 is moved to the right in Fig. 1, lever 34 is moved to the clutch-disengaging position.

If, instead of the length-representation being "a length measurement as in the example described and illustrated, it is a time-measurement that is obtained'and exhibited by a stop-watch mechanism it will readily be appreciated that the starting, stopping, and resetting of this mechanism may be controlled by the lift of roller 2 at three successive passes of thickness 1.

The appropriate thickness at 1 may be produced by rolling up or folding up the ends of the fabric band and then sewing such rolled up or folded up ends together.

Iclaim:

1. In a machine for milling an endless band of fabric having a loca1 projection at one point, at least one driven roller for advancing the fabric, a measuring apparatus driven in synchronism with said driven roller, a clutch in the drive to said measuring apparatus, a displaceable member in the path of said projection to be displaced thereby, and means whereby successive displacements of the member serve to engage and disengage the clutch.

2. In a machine for milling an endless band of fabric having a local projection at one point, a driving roller for feeding the fabric, a resilient displaceable member in the path of said projection, a first indicator movement driven in synchronism with said roller and a second indicator movement actuated by the displacements of said displaceable member, said movements cooperating to indicate an increase in frequency in such displacements.

3. In a milling machine of the type comprising a pair of rollers between which an endless band of fabric is passed repeatedly, a crimp box into which the fabric passes from the rollers and in which it is accumulated and from which it is withdrawn to pass between rollers again, and pressure means for pressing upon the accumulated fabric in the crimp box; apparatus for obtaining and exhibiting at each of successive passes of the fabric band a measurement which is representative of the length of the band at that pass, which apparatus comprises a rotary measuring device that engages the fabric, a length indicator, means driving the indicator in conformity with the measuring device, a resilient mounting for one of said rollers, displaceable in response to the passage through the machine of a local thickness in the fabric, and means operable by such displacement for causing the indicator to be reset for a fresh indication.

4. A machine according to claim 3, having a clutch in the drive to the indicator for connecting and disconnecting the drive, restoring means for returning the indicator to zero upon disconnection of the drive, and means operable by the said displacement to control the clutch.

5. A machine according to claim 3, having a maximum reading indicator movable by the length indicator to indicate the maximum reading achieved by it.

6. A machine according to claim 3, having a maximum reading indicator movable by the length indicator to indicate the maximum reading achieved by the latter, a clutch to the drive of the indicator for connecting and disconnecting the drive; restoring means for returning the indicator but not the maximum reading indicator to zero upon disconnection of the drive, and means operable by the feeler for controlling the clutch.

7. In a machine for milling an endless band of fabric having a local projection at one point, a pair of squeezing rollers one of which is resiliently mounted for displacement by the passage of said projection between the rollers, and an indicator comprising a first clutch member driven synchronously with said squeezing rollers, a second clutch member and an indicator connected therewith, spring means tending to return said indicator to a zero position, a ratchet and pawl device restraining said indicator against return, clutch engaging and disengaging means, and a cam device operated by displacement of said resiliently mounted roller, successive movements of said cam device operating the clutch engaging and disengaging means and releasing the indicator from said ratchet and pawl device.

8. A machine as claimed in claim 7, wherein said cam device is a uni-directional rotary cam having in series an idle phase of a clutch operating phase of 120 and a ratchet and pawl operating phase of 120.

9. A machine for milling an endless band of fabric having a local projection at one point, combined with an indicator comprising a stepby-step rotary cam, reciprocating meansfor rotating said cam, a rotary indicator shaft, driving means for said shaft, an indicator finger, a clutch connecting said indicator to the indicator shaft means operated by said cam for engaging and disengaging the clutch, spring means tending to return the indicator to a zero position, a ratchet and pawl device opposing the return of said indicator, and means operated by the cam to release the indicator from said ratchet and pawl device. and having means for rotating the indicator shaft synchronously with the movement of the fabric, and further means operating the reciprocating means on each passage of said projection.

10. In a milling machine of the type operable upon an endless band of fabric, which endless band is circulated through a crimp box in which a length of the band is always accumulated and subjected to pressure, apparatus for obtaining and exhibiting at each of successive circulations of the fabric band a measurement which is representative of the length of the band at that circulation, which apparatus comprises a rotary measuring device that engages the fabric, a length indicator, means driving the indicator in conformity with the measuring device; a feeler responsive to the passage through the machine of a local thickness in the fabric, and means operable by the feeler response for causing the indicator to be reset for a fresh indication.

11. In a machine for milling an endless band of fabric, a rotary length-measuring device engaging the fabric band, a measuring apparatus, driving connections including a clutch for driving said apparatus in synchronism with the said device, means for detecting the passage of a predetermined point in the endless band, and means whereby successive detectors produce engagement and disengagement of the clutch and the intermittent drive of the measuring apparatus.

EMILE B. BATES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the Morrill May 8, 1945 

